Heavy rains accompanied by high winds battered eight districts of Sri Lanka since Friday bringing flash floods that claimed the lives of two people in Kegalle district.

The Disaster management Center said 2,668 people were affected by the heavy rain and floods and one person in Kegalle died of slope cutting failure and the other in Galigamuwa drowned.

The Disaster Management Center says water levels of many rivers in the island have reached to spill level due to heavy rain.

The National Building Research Organization (NBRO) meanwhile, has issued landslide risk warnings for the districts of Galle, Matara, Matale, Ratnapura, Kalutara, Kegalle, Colombo, Nuwara Eliya, Kurunegala and Kandy.

People living in landslide hazard zones in the Divisional Secretariat Divisions of Baddegama, Galle district, Pelmadulla, Ratnapura, Elapatha, Nivithigala, Kalawana and Kiriella in Ratnapura District, Polgahawala and Mawathagama, Kurunegala District, Bulathkohupitiya, Warakapola, Rambukkana, Galigamuwa, Kegalle, Kegalle district and Ambangagakoralaya in the Nuwara Eliya District, where the rainfall exceeded 100 mm in the past 24 hours, have been landslide hazardous warnings requesting to evacuate to safe areas in case of further rain.

The NBRO has warned that landslides, block collapses and rock fall would occur in areas where rainfall exceeded 75 mm during the past twenty four hours.

The Disaster Management Center urged the public living in flood-prone areas to take measures to safeguard the lives and property and evacuate before floods occur, especially because it is necessary to follow the instructions given by the Ministry of Health due to the existing COVID-19 epidemic threat.

The Disaster Management Center also urges the public to take action to ensure that school children’s books and stationery are kept safe from flooding and to constantly alert the public on the hazardous conditions that may occur.

The people living in low lying areas closed to basins of Mee Oya, Deduru Oya, Attanagalu Oya, Kelani, Kalu, Bentara, Gin and Nilwala rivers, Kirama Oya and Uruboku Oya have been advised to be vigilant on the rising water levels.

Meanwhile, power supply in many areas in the Kegalle, Kurunegala, Galle, Matara and Ratnapura districts has been disrupted due to gale force winds. Many power lines and utility posts have been snapped by the wind. About 45,000 persons have been affected due to power failure.

Cyclone Amphan is quickly strengthening in the Bay of Bengal as it tracks toward India, Bangladesh and Myanmar as a serious threat to one of the world’s most vulnerable populations to cyclones.

Cyclone Amphan (pronounced AM-pun) is currently in the central Bay of Bengal and will track generally northward this weekend and then a turn toward the north-northeast is likely. Its exact track remains uncertain and will determine where the greatest threat from this system will be.

Atmospheric conditions are favorable for development and sea-surface temperatures are very warm. Rapid intensification is a possibility and this tropical cyclone needs to be monitored closely.

Amphan is becoming a hurricane strength system, but could become a major hurricane equivalent system by early Tuesday.

The exact track remains uncertain and as a result areas from northeastern India into Bangladesh and northwestern Myanmar need to be prepared.

As the cyclone approaches the coast on Tuesday night, strong winds, very rough sea conditions, storm surge and heavy rain are likely across Odisha and West Bengal coasts. The Indian Meteorological Department has issued an orange alert to both Odisha and Gangetic West Bengal (South Bengal). The alert urges the residents to be prepared for gale winds and very heavy rainfall.

A red alert has been issued for Gangetic West Bengal, which urges residents to take action to protect themselves from the extremely heavy rainfall and severe winds forecast for that day.

Sailors and fisherman in Bangladesh have been told to not venture into the Indian Ocean.

Depending on where it makes landfall, significant storm surge is possible, which could be destructive. Bangladesh is particularly vulnerable to dangerous storm surge flooding.

Heavy rainfall with the threat of flooding is also a serious concern. It is too early to know how much rain will fall but areas in yellow, orange and red in the map below have the greatest chance of flooding rain.

Heavy rain and gusty winds are also expected this weekend over Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Strong, gusty winds are also anticipated. Winds near hurricane force are possible, especially in areas closer to where the center of the storm tracks.

The name Amphan is suggested by Thailand and will be the last name from the original list of 64 cyclone names proposed back in September 2004 for storms over the north Indian Ocean. The WMO guidelines stipulate that the countries in the region must name storms in any ocean basin. For the northern Indian Ocean, now thirteen countries suggest the names. The IMD’s regional specialised meteorological centre (RSMC) in New Delhi monitors the cyclogenesis, issues advisories and names the cyclones.